Reading is great for your health, but does anyone like reading textbooks for fire promotional exam prep? No. However, if you want to ensure you get promoted you will have to do some reading. These tips should help you breeze through your textbooks so you can get started on your firefighter promotional exam study guides. 

1. Use the Book To Your Advantage

Many textbooks have sections at the front and back with review questions, or learning objectives. The textbook is telling you exactly what to focus on and absorb. Pay attention to heading, and subheadings. Look at the pictures and read their captions. Does this mean the questions on your exam will be those questions? Unfortunately no, but they are important topics you should fully understand and are a great place to start. Also, important words or concepts tend to be highlighted or bolded, literally telling you, this is important. Before you start reading a new chapter, look at the learning objective in the front, then, before you start reading, go directly to the back and look for those review questions. This way, you will have a guide as you read as to what information you should look out for and save yourself valuable time. 

2. Stop And Review

Once you get to the end of a section or chapter, ask yourself those review questions. Can you answer them? If not, go back and review. If you are struggling with the information in the current chapter, moving on to read the next chapter is only going to add to your level of confusion. Before you continue to the next chapter in your reading, you want to be sure you have a good understanding of the previous chapter. If you are feeling overwhelmed and not able to focus and retain information, it is probably time for a study break, maybe even a nap, then go back and read the chapter again. 

3. Take Notes...On Paper

Write the material down on a piece of paper. It has been proven that taking notes the old-fashion way will help you retain more information. Summarize what you are reading in your own words and write down the answers to those key concepts and review questions as you go. Flash cards are another great option when it comes to taking notes. The information you are writing down can be used as a portable study guide and you can have your spouse or study partner/group help you review them later. So as you go along and see the bolded information, write it down. Not only are you helping yourself retain the information, you are creating a portable study guide for yourself that you can use on the go.

4. If You Have Questions, Ask

Remember, you do not have to go it alone even though you are not in a traditional class with a teacher guiding you. If you are struggling with a section of your textbook, look outside the textbook for help. A great source of help could be someone who has the job you are testing to promote to or someone that is going to be taking the firefighter promotional exam with you. All study progress is halted if you are struggling to comprehend something, so don’t be afraid to ask for help, everyone has been where you are. 

The Takeaway

Reading a textbook is a daunting task, but unfortunately one that has to be done if you want to pass your firefighter promotional exam and succeed in your future career. These tips should help you maximize the time you spend reading your textbook so you can move on to the next step of your firefighter promotional exam prep, using your firefighter promotion study software and taking practice tests. Remember, as boring as it may be, understanding the information you are reading is critical to your success in your future career.